Will God Judge me as a Catholic or Protestant?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Leonel1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Leonel1

Guest
I have an aunt who was baptized Catholic as an infant, but she left Catholicism as an adult and became a Protestant. When she dies, will God judge her as a Catholic or as a Protestant?
 
I think God will judge you as one of His children… and listen to your confessions as you kneel before Him.
 
Last edited:
God does not have different standards for Catholics and protestants. Catholicism does have the fulness of truth and grace which helps us best to become the people we are created to be. Essentially, it’s more complicated than your OP seems to imply.
 
Last edited:
I’m born and raised Catholic and I would never convert due to the fullness of the tools we have such the Rosary, Divine Office, Theology by Saints. I don’t see myself in opposition to Protestant Denominations. As I grow older, and I investigate scripture more I feel more in union with our Protestant brothers and sisters; we have things to learn from each other. For scriptural understanding I look to:

John 14:2
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

I see this as Christ acknowledging that in the fullness of his mission on Earth, there will be many groups, denominations, factions and each will have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
 
Last edited:
RepetantCatholic said:
I see this as Christ acknowledging that in the fullness of his mission on Earth, there will be many groups, denominations, factions and each will have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Click to expand...
This is not in accordance with the teachings of the Church. There is only one true Church that Jesus intended to establish. All others are sinful separation from that one body.
 
Capta(name removed by moderator)rudeman said:
God does not have different standards for Catholics and protestants.
Click to expand...
IIRC, in Holy Scripture it says that he to whom much has been given much more will be required.

A lady who was one of our parishioners (Idk if she’s still living) told me that everyone will be held accountable for what they know.

So objectively speaking, Catholics will be held to a higher standard than Protestants, Protestants will be held to a higher standard than non-Christians etc.
 
Well, that’s how you see it and I won’t argue with you regarding it because I have no evidence in either direction. But from their perspective, were they to hold firm on their own teachings…we are the fallen Church.

So, would Christ want us to argue and go to war with them to prove the Real Church? Don’t think religious tensions are in the past, they are very much present in Canada, Europe, and even here in the US–I’ve come to understand that recently that there is religious tensions in the US by talking to folks about it who couldn’t understand how I could be so freely Catholic with Protestant friends.

Listening to Christian Radio, reading Apps like Joseph Stanley’s In Touch, and Daily Bread Ministries; the mainstream denominations don’t differ too much with us on interpretation of the Bible. I’ve never heard anything on there that I wasn’t taught in my Catechism or by reading the Saints.

I don’t see Catholicism hinging on being THE ONE TRUE Church and all are condemned as a critical teaching. Maybe, I’ll evolve into that as I grow older. But, for right now, it is fine for me to ignore that one and just hope that more people will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again, Eternal Damnation is a huge burden for something so light as belonging to the wrong Christian Church, especially when your region doesn’t have those Churches.
 
RepetantCatholic said:
Listening to Christian Radio, reading Apps like Joseph Stanley’s In Touch, and Daily Bread Ministries; the mainstream denominations don’t differ too much with us on interpretation of the Bible. I’ve never heard anything on there that I wasn’t taught in my Catechism or by reading the Saints.
Click to expand...
This is because mainstream Christian media is designed to be inoffensive to as many people as possible. I enjoy listening to CCM but it is weak theologically, because they could not espouse strong doctrines and still sell records.

It would be preferable if you frequented Catholic channels and Catholic websites which impart a uniquely Catholic message and are not afraid to tell the truth.
 
This is how I see it also. Again, for scriptural guidance I look to the Parables of the Laborers. The original Laborers made the initial contract, there are laborers who come at the 11th hour, both are given equal pay. At the surface level is never put a limit to God’s generosity, people are going hungry after all and for lack of work they were unable to feed their family.

But, I also see it as a metaphor for the early Church. We Catholics hold the original contract, we can’t grumble if Churches come along later on…and we are both given the same wage (heaven) although we share the greater labor.
 
Last edited:
I learned that out of the 7 Sacraments, two of them imprint in us a forever mark, Holy Orders and Baptism. A priest will be a priest forever, even if he leaves the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Likewise, a Baptized individual in the Catholic faith, will forever be a Catholic. And, if God judges him as a Catholic, God will judge him by his Ten Commandments, but also by the commandments of the Catholic Faith. For example, did one meet Sunday & Holy Day obligations by going to Mass? Or, did one go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a year. These are just a couple of examples but there’s more. Therefore, my question again is, will God judge someone as a Catholic? Even if they leave Catholicism, assuming they remain Catholic forever though Catholic Baptism.
 
Well, I do also have the EWTN App where you can watch the channel on your tablet. I would buy the cable channel but the way my local cable works is to get EWTN I have to buy the top tier channel and get a bunch of unnecessary channels. So, I do watch EWTN. I also have a new App for a Catholic radio station which is Relevant Radio. Haven’t listened to it yet but I just discovered it recently.

Currently, I am reading Thomas Kempe’s Imitation of Christ which I have found enormously helpful. I also just finished St. John of the Cross Dark Night of the Soul which I found life changing. I have Thomas Merton, Teresa Avila, among other writings purchased and queued for reading. Again, I prefer to read than watch television or radio.
 
Leonel1 said:
I have an aunt who was baptized Catholic as an infant, but she left Catholicism as an adult and became a Protestant. When she dies, will God judge her as a Catholic or as a Protestant?
Click to expand...
He will judge according to works, acceptance of grace, and friendship with God

The catechism says: “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation. At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.”

However if she left the Catholic Church as an adult, that gets a little sticky. If she was well catechised and rejected Catholicism, that’s a serious issue.

But if she thought, hey, one church is as good as another, and was in ignorance, that’s a different issue.

God holds us responsible for what we know.
 
Leonel1 said:
Likewise, a Baptized individual in the Catholic faith, will forever be a Catholic.
Click to expand...
Anyone who received a valid baptism, whether Catholic or protestant is a member of the body of Christ and has been cleansed of original sin.
 
Leonel1 said:
These are just a couple of examples but there’s more. Therefore, my question again is, will God judge someone as a Catholic? Even if they leave Catholicism, assuming they remain Catholic forever though Catholic Baptism.
Click to expand...
I heard that God has the ability to read your heart and mind, He knows you better then you know yourself… He knows you are Catholic or Protestant, He also knows if you love and accept His Son, Jesus Christ as your Savior, accepted the Holy Spirit in your heart, prayed to Him for all your needs… and when you kneel before Him, He knows if you truly love Him… or faking it to get on the list.
 
Three Sacraments impose a character (mark): Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders.
 
There is no such thing as being judged “as a Catholic” or “as a Protestant.” We are judged as human beings with free will who can respond to grace or not.
 
Part of the judgment will be the issue of having fallen away from Catholicism. But only part. We do not know who is saved and who isn’t. That is always up to God.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top